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A blog of anecdotes and articles about the First World War.

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Recent Posts Tagged With 'christmas stories'

  • Christmas 1916 - Sir Harry Lauder.

    Posted on Wednesday December 30th, 2009 at 03:09 in christmas stories

    Over the last few days we have visited many places and people in search of Christmas 1916.Some accounts were in the sands of Egypt with a concert party. Some were in cold, wet trenches in France. One lady of the F.A.N.Y. was with the sick in hospital...

  • Christmas 1916 – 17th Highland Light Infantry.

    Posted on Tuesday December 29th, 2009 at 03:01 in christmas stories

    This account comes from the official history of “The Seventeenth Highland Light Infantry (Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Battalion).”With games of rugby and football on the menu for the day and Christmas lunch reserved until 30th December."On the 19...

  • Christmas 1916 – King George V.

    Posted on Saturday December 26th, 2009 at 04:12 in christmas stories

    King George V messages to the Empire was published in the Times on 26th December 1916.THE KING’S MESSAGESGood Wishes for The Fighting MenThe king has sent the following messages to his soldiers and sailors and to the sick and wounded: -I send you, ...

  • The Christmas Box by Edgar Guest.

    Posted on Friday December 25th, 2009 at 03:08 in poetry, christmas stories

    The Christmas Box by Edgar Guest.This poem for Christmas entitled “The Christmas Box,” was published in the book ‘Over Here’ by Edgar A. Guest.The Christmas BoxOh, we have shipped his Christmas box with ribbons red 'tis tied,And he shall find...

  • Christmas 1916 - 5th Highland Light Infantry.

    Posted on Wednesday December 23rd, 2009 at 03:40 in christmas stories

    Christmas 1916 found the 5th Battalion Highland Light Infantry in Egypt with limited supplies. With most of the goodies were acquisitioned from the ANZAC’s.On December 20th we moved to Kilo 129 and took over a bit of the outpost line from the 6th M...

  • Christmas 1916 - A Message from the Kaiser.

    Posted on Tuesday December 22nd, 2009 at 10:11 in christmas stories

    Christmas 1916 saw the Kaiser send this short encouraging message:“Honour to God above, peace on earth, and to man, happiness. God bless the third war Christams of all those away in the field and of those at home in our dear fatherland.”(signed) ...

  • Christmas 1916 - 3rd Australian Division.

    Posted on Friday December 18th, 2009 at 04:27 in christmas stories

    This passage comes from the book “Over the Top with the Third Australian Division” by G.P Cuttriss.Under the title ‘Soldiers Superstitions’ it gives an interesting account of the festive activities out of the front line. The final tragic stor...

  • Christmas 1916 - Westminster Abbey.

    Posted on Wednesday December 16th, 2009 at 07:13 in christmas stories

    This evocative report was published in “The Times” on 27th December 1916.It describes the Boxing Day carol service held at Westminster Abbey. I like the way the fog descends upon the Abbey during the service and gives it a almost ‘holy’ atmos...

  • Christmas 1916 - At the Suez Canal.

    Posted on Tuesday December 15th, 2009 at 04:23 in christmas stories

    This account of Christmas 1916 centers on the Middle East.The author Antony Bluett served with with A" BATTERY, H.A.C., AND EGYPTIAN CAMEL TRANSPORT CORPS and recorded his war in the book “ Our Army in Palestine”.Christmas 1916 found him at El K...

  • Christmas 1916 - With The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.

    Posted on Monday December 14th, 2009 at 04:15 in christmas stories

    This account of Christmas 1916 comes from the book “Fanny Goes to War” by Pat Beauchamp.Pat Beauchamp was a member of “The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry” and this wonderful account at a station in northern France really paints a vidid picture of...

  • Christmas 1916 - John Gibson Pitt, 8th Battalion, A.I.F.

    Posted on Friday December 11th, 2009 at 08:29 in christmas stories

    By Christmas 1916 Private John Pitt of ‘D’ Company, 8th Battalion had risen to the rank of 2nd lieutenant. John (who was originally from England), in his own diary records this as he is given leave in Paris:-Saturday December 23rdWe did grouping ...

  • Christmas 1916 - A White Christmas in London

    Posted on Thursday December 10th, 2009 at 06:26 in christmas stories

    This article published in ‘The Times’ on 26th December 1916 describes the Christmas activities on and around London for the soldiers on leave in 1916.It was bitterly cold and wet in the trenches in France and London had a fall of snow on Christma...

  • Christmas 1916 - with the 4th Field Ambulance, A.I.F.

    Posted on Wednesday December 9th, 2009 at 03:45 in christmas stories

    Private William Dalton Lycett, 2063, of the 4th Field Ambulance A.I.F. enlisted on 12th September 1914, he embarked on the 22nd December 1914 at Melbourne on the H.M.A.T. “Berrima”.This extract is from his diary which can be found online at Anzac...

  • Christmas 1916 - 5th Leicestershire\'s.

    Posted on Tuesday December 8th, 2009 at 05:30 in christmas stories

    The next account comes from the excellent book “The Fifth Leicestershire (A Record Of The 1/5th Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment T.F., During The War, 1914-1919)by J.D. Hills.” Christmas 1915 was the 5th Leicestershire’s first in France, a...

  • Christmas 1916 - With a Field Battery.

    Posted on Monday December 7th, 2009 at 04:21 in christmas stories

    This short account of Christmas 1916 comes from C.A. Rose. C.A. Rose M.C., was a member of the Royal Field Artillery and his book “Three years in France with the Guns: Being Episodes in the life of a Field Battery” is a record of the work of a Ro...

  • Christmas 1916 - A War Christmas at Home.

    Posted on Thursday December 3rd, 2009 at 04:16 in christmas stories

    This article entitled “My Three War Christmases In Flanders, Denmark, and Old England by Basil Clarke” comes from the excellent site “The Great War in A Different Light.”Christmas 1915 by War Correspondent Basil Clarke was spent in the North ...

  • Christmas 1916 - First Canadian Division.

    Posted on Tuesday December 1st, 2009 at 09:39 in christmas stories

    Over the last two years I posted many articles on the first two Christmas’s of the First World War.Christmas 1916 brought to the end a devastating year for the British Army. The Battle of the Somme begun on 1st July 1916 had finally come to a close...

  • Christmas 1915 - Christmas: 1915 by Percy McKaye.

    Posted on Wednesday December 24th, 2008 at 03:52 in poetry, christmas stories

    This poem entitled Christmas: 1915 by Percy McKaye captures the gloomy feeling that started to prevail. Gone was the optimism and hope of 1914 in its place was now a fear for what the future held.Now is the midnight of the nations: darkEven as death,...

  • Christmas 1915 - Christmas in the Trenches.

    Posted on Tuesday December 23rd, 2008 at 04:13 in christmas stories

    This is a quite amazing article from The Great War in Different Light.Originally it was published in ‘The War Illustrated’, on 25th December, 1915.'Christmas in the Trenches' by our War Correspondent F. A. McKenzie offered the public at home a ...

  • Christmas 1915 - A Story at the ANZAC Dinner.

    Posted on Monday December 22nd, 2008 at 03:17 in christmas stories

    This article appeared in The Times on 27th December 1915. Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and fourth Prime Minister of Australia. He was also a ...

  • Christmas 1915 - Alleged Impersonation in Widnes.

    Posted on Friday December 19th, 2008 at 03:24 in christmas stories

    This story appeared in The Times on 28th December 1915. It was just too good to pass by.I will let the reader make up their own mind to the real events. My money is that Mrs. O’Connor was ‘entertaining’ Mr Goulding and her brother found out abo...

  • Christmas 1915 - The message of King George V.

    Posted on Thursday December 18th, 2008 at 03:53 in christmas stories

    This is the message given to all from King George V published in The Times on 27th December 1915, followed by the response of Major-General Maxwell. I wonder how it would have been received by the “Tommy” stuck in a cold, freezing trench somewher...

  • Christmas 1915 - Miss Sarah Macnaughtan.

    Posted on Wednesday December 17th, 2008 at 04:14 in christmas stories

    This account of Christmas 1915 comes from the remarkable Sarah Macnaughtan. Miss Macnaughtan is a heroine of mine. A quiet story writer who distributed comforts in the South African War but it was during the First World War where she was transformed ...

  • Christmas 1915 - The First Canadian Division in France

    Posted on Monday December 15th, 2008 at 05:57 in christmas stories

    This piece of First World War history comes from the book, “The Great War as I Saw It” by Canon Frederick George Scott, C.M.G., D.S.O. who was the Senior Chaplain to the First Canadian Division.Christmas 1914 found the First Canadian Division cam...

  • Christmas 1915 - with Danish Hospitality.

    Posted on Friday December 12th, 2008 at 04:01 in christmas stories

    This article entitled “My Three War Christmases In Flanders, Denmark, and Old England by Basil Clarke” comes from the excellent site “The Great War in A Different Light.”Christmas 1915 by War Correspondent Basil Clarke was spent in the North ...

  • Christmas 1915 - 5th Leicestershire's.

    Posted on Tuesday December 9th, 2008 at 07:42 in christmas stories

    The next account comes from the excellent book “The Fifth Leicestershire (A Record Of The 1/5th Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment T.F., During The War, 1914-1919)by J.D. Hills.” Christmas 1915 was the 5th Leicestershire’s first in France, ...

  • Christmas 1915 - 28th Battalion, A.I.F.

    Posted on Monday December 8th, 2008 at 06:14 in christmas stories

    Last year I posted many articles on the First Christmas of the First World War 25th December 1914.This year (a year on) I am going to take a look at Christmas 1915. A lot had happened during 1915, the first Gas Attack by the Germans in April 1915 cer...